Junior Red Update from Coach Leo

Hope everyone had a restful weekend. July, the most eventful month, is here! The activities include Canada parade, Buddy Breakaway, Grouse grind, Triathlon, R&W meet, AND our Challenge Pyramid All Week Long. Furthermore, upcoming meets have heats and finals which simulate Regionals and Provincials. Before we are caught up in all the excitement, let’s review our progress in June.

The two main goals set in June were:

1) To become consistent in our streamline, underwater kick and breakout (basic skills that are crucial in the long term)

2) To improve endurance/fitness

To work towards these goals, we worked towards efficient strokes by focusing on:

· Deep kickoff every wall in backstroke, eyes up

· Quick turnover

· Getting rid of pause

· Head down during breakout and finish

As a group, strokes are smoother and more efficient. Your streamlines, underwater kick, and breakout are also more consistent. Our focus in May and June was on the mid-race (the portion where you are doing the stroke). In July, we will shift our focus to starts (initial portion) and turns (transition portion), and continue to reinforce and refine our stroke technique.

Our key goals in July are 1) being able to execute effective dives and turns, 2) maintain our stroke technique in the last portion of the races (25m) and finish strong, 3) improve endurance and speed. These goals demand practice and fitness so now is the time to come to as many practices as you can. We will work on dives and turns, see you this week!

Swimmer of the Week: Sierra L.

– There was a challenging set where Sierra worked through initial discomfort and got back into the practice. This Kigoos spirit of self-motivation is a great encouragement to me and our group. Congratulations!